Make the croutons first. Pour a generous amount of oil into a frying pan and place over a medium-high heat. When hot, add the croutons and fry on each side until golden, then remove.

Place the butter and a splash of oil in a large, deep pan over a medium heat. Add the leeks, garlic and a pinch of salt. Slowly fry for 5 minutes until softened, then tear in the tomatoes.

Pour in the wine, bring to the boil and cook for 2 minutes to drive off the alcohol. Stir in the mussels and peas, cover with a lid and cook for 3-4 minutes until all the mussels have opened. Stir in the parsley.

Place a few croutons in each bowl and divide the mussels and juices between them. Drizzle with a little extra oil before serving.

Make the croutons first. Pour a generous amount of oil into a frying pan and place over a medium-high heat. When hot, add the croutons and fry on each side until golden, then remove.

Place the butter and a splash of oil in a large, deep pan over a medium heat. Add the leeks, garlic and a pinch of salt. Slowly fry for 5 minutes until softened, then tear in the tomatoes.

Pour in the wine, bring to the boil and cook for 2 minutes to drive off the alcohol. Stir in the mussels and peas, cover with a lid and cook for 3-4 minutes until all the mussels have opened. Stir in the parsley.

Place a few croutons in each bowl and divide the mussels and juices between them. Drizzle with a little extra oil before serving.

If you have the time, this is improved by removing the walnut skins – you can do this by soaking them in boiling water. You can find marjoram at greengrocers or in Waitrose, but if you can’t get hold of it, use more parsley or basil. Read more

This is inspired by one of my favourite recipes from Tamasin Day-Lewis’s The Art of the Tart. I have slightly adjusted it by using finocchiona, a fennel-spiced Italian salami. You can of course do one big tart if you prefer. Read more

I recently discovered the deliciousness of melted Caerphilly – it makes simply the best cheese on toast. If you have a cheesemonger near you, it’s definitely worth trying to get some of the aged version. Read more

If you can’t find beetroot still with the leaves on, a couple of handfuls of spinach is a worthy alternative. I like to use the pretty pink candy cane beetroots for this recipe, but the deep red ones are also perfect Read more

I couldn’t write about crème fraîche without including a recipe based on this River Café classic. I’d often rustle this up for staff food when I worked there as it was delicious and takes seconds to make. Nothing could be easier or quicker than this recipe. Make the sauce while the pasta is cooking. Read more

Though this dish is usually the perfect receptacle for using leftovers, I’ve decided to make a deluxe version using crab. If you have brown meat, stir that in too. Sriracha is a tangy (and fairly fierce) Thai chili sauce. Read more

This is based on the curries made by the Muslims (or “massamans”) of southern Thailand; it uses the aromatic spices found in Indian, Malay and Indonesian cuisine as well as the fresh fruits and roots of mainstream Thai cooking. It may seem like a bit of a hassle to make your own massaman paste (though you can use the pre-made stuff if you want), but you will definitely taste the difference. You will need to precook your duck for this. This would be further improved, dare I say it, by making your own coconut milk! Read more

You can use shop-bought garam masala, but home-made is of course much better. Any vegetables work in this dish, such as aubergine, sweetcorn, but I thought I’d go the wintry, root-vegetable route. Read more

You can use whatever game you have available — pigeon, quail, pheasant and partridge would all be nice here. I like having some meat off the bone and some on the bone — you could even leave a grouse leg sticking out for effect. This pastry is rich and decadent, the perfect match to the leanness of game. Read more

Alla cacciatore means ‘‘hunter-style’’ and is often seen on the menus of Italian restaurants. Do include any livers and kidneys as this will only make it more delicious. This would also be fantastic with pasta. Read more

You ideally want to cook this in a tagine very slowly on the stove, but in the absence of that, a large pan is fine. Traditionally you don’t brown the meat, but I often do to give it some extra oomph. Read more

This is my version of the French classic. Do use confit duck if you can find it, likewise fresh white beans, such as French coco blanc, would be wonderful in this — though you won’t need to soak or precook them. Tinned beans are also fine here. Read more

This Mexican lamb shoulder recipe is a bit like a classic American pulled pork. I make a kind of coleslaw out of cabbage, fennel and pomegranate dressed with herbs, lemon and olive oil to go with this. Read more

The key to this is to try to make sure that the sauce is a loose, but rich, texture, and that you stir everything really well together so every strand of pasta is coated, adding enough pasta water to make it silky. Read more

A delicious soup with fluffy dumplings that fill you up without overwhelming. The recipe comes from the writer Paul Levy, who claims that his addition of ground almonds produces the lightest and airiest of dumplings. Read more

This is an interesting dish. The rice and stock are served hot, while the chicken and sauce are served at room temperature. This makes it feel more fun to eat and somehow quite celebratory. Asparagus is not exactly a traditional addition, but I always add them when in season to give a vegetable element to the dish. Read more

You want to marinate the chicken for at least two hours, but ideally overnight. Usually paneer is the stand-in for meat, but here I’ve decided to be a bit controversial and pair it with meat.
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